Craters of the Moon

Proposed National ParkIdaho
A broken black lava field running to green mountains on the horizon at Craters of the Moon, Idaho
All proposed National ParksCraters of the MoonCampaign underway
Location
Idaho
Current protection
Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve, Great Rift, Pioneer Mountains
Status
Advocacy by the New National Parks campaign; no bill
Tier
Tier 1 · National Park
Undiscovered America
Featured in the film and the book

Why should it be a National Park?

The iconic volcanic landscapes within the United States are on the Hawaiian Islands, but the often overlooked state of Idaho showcases more than 1,100 square-miles of the most diverse fields of dormant lava flows in the entire country. Hawaii does have a series of parks and preserves which represent volcanic environments, but it's time we reveal that Hawaii is not the only place in America with these features. Craters of the Moon is an unexpected, exemplary site worthy of greater recognition. These volcanic lands in the Great Rift region of south-central Idaho consist of three enormous lava fields. The fields offer rare opportunities to experience rift cracks, which are massive crevices caused by the land splitting apart, including the deepest known one on Earth at 800 feet deep. Craters of the Moon also has an impressive variety of landscapes ranging from basaltic lava, to tree molds, and lava tubes. This eerie volcanic landscape resulted from a series of cataclysmic events roughly 15-million-years-ago, from the same geothermal hot-spot that sculpted the terrain of Yellowstone National Park.

Surprisingly, Idaho is the only western state without its own National Park. In recent years campaigns to change its federal designation have gained significant traction. In March 2017, the Idaho Senate voted in favor of petitioning Congress to redesignate Craters of the Moon as a National Park.

The history of National Park Campaigns

Craters of the Moon has been proposed for National Park status at least three documented times: by Rep. Richard Stallings in 1989–91 (a ~497,000-acre park-and-preserve bill that hunters, ranchers, and the National Park Service itself sank), by the monument's own superintendent in a 2014 feasibility effort, and by the Idaho Senate's 2017 memorial to Congress. In between, the monument was expanded twelvefold by President Clinton (2000) and Congress made the NPS-managed expansion a national preserve (2002) rather than a park.

Distinct National Park attempts
3 documented (1989–91 Stallings bill; 2014 superintendent feasibility effort; 2017 SJM 101); the 1921 and 1987 attempts mentioned in the book could not be found in the record
Other designation attempts
monument 1924; four expansions; wilderness 1970; 2000 expansion; 2002 preserve

Sources

  • NPS park archives index (npshistory.com/publications/crmo)
  • Lewiston Tribune AP archive 1989–91
  • Idaho Legislature SJM 101 (2017) record and Statement of Purpose
  • P.L. 107-213
  • Proclamation 7373
  • Craters of the Moon administrative history
  • Michael Kellett, "A Modest Proposal: We Need More National Parks," Sierra (August 17, 2021)
Know of a campaign? Tell us
  1. 1920–24

    Robert Limbert's expeditions and National Geographic article ("Among the 'Craters of the Moon'," March 1924) build the case; May 2, 1924 — Coolidge proclaims a ~54,000-acre national monument.

  2. 1928, 1930, 1941, 1962

    boundary expansions; September 1958 — Adolph Murie's field investigation of the Kipuka addition (report Feb. 1959). (npshistory.com/publications/crmo)

  3. October 23, 1970

    Craters of the Moon Wilderness, among the first NPS wilderness areas.

  4. November 1989

    NATIONAL PARK BILL. Rep. Richard Stallings (D-ID) introduces a bill converting the 53,545-acre monument into a 496,825-acre Craters of the Moon National Park and Great Rift National Preserve, adding Crystal Ice Caves and the Great Rift (then BLM land already recommended for wilderness). Framed as an Idaho statehood-centennial project. Immediately attacked by sportsmen and the livestock industry; the Idaho Fish and Game Commission and the Idaho Cattle Association opposed it; Stallings withdrew and reworked it. (Lewiston Tribune/AP: "Stallings hopes National Park proposal is ready to go by May 1," 1990; "National Park idea is back on Stallings' agenda," 1991)

  5. 1990

    Revised, smaller plan promised for May 1; in August Subcommittee Chairman Bruce Vento (D-MN) tells Stallings the National Parks and Public Lands panel has no time that session. Stallings: the November bill was "only a starting point for discussion, not a final product." (AP, "Craters of Moon park plan is stalled")

  6. Late 1990 / early 1991

    NPS REPORT AGAINST. The National Park Service recommends against a National Park: the area's features, "although significant... fall short of meeting the criteria for National Parks," and resources "can be protected by revising Bureau of Land Management guidelines." Stallings says he will reintroduce only "if there is a state consensus and support... Otherwise I'll drop it," noting his 1990 opponent had called it "a land grab." (AP, "Stallings still pushing for National Park"; Lewiston Tribune)

  7. 1991

    Vento visits Craters, is "impressed" but "not ready to endorse." Stallings runs for the Senate in 1992 and loses; the bill dies with his House career. (AP, "Lawmaker impressed by Craters of the Moon")

  8. November 9, 2000

    Proclamation 7373 (Clinton) expands the monument to ~661,000 acres across NPS and BLM lands; August 21, 2002 — P.L. 107-213 (Rep. Mike Simpson) redesignates the NPS-managed expansion as Craters of the Moon National Preserve (hunting retained).

  9. November 2014

    Superintendent Dan Buckley works with the NPS "on the feasibility" of National Park status and briefs the Idaho delegation; the Idaho State Journal runs "Craters of the Moon National Park?" (Nov. 2014).

  10. March 2, 2017

    Senate Joint Memorial 101 introduced (Idaho Senate State Affairs Committee; floor sponsor Sen. Jeff Siddoway, R-Terreton); March 6, 2017 adopted 20–13–2, over Idaho Farm Bureau opposition, conditioned on protecting grazing, hunting, and the state-owned US-20/26 corridor. Siddoway: "Our congressional delegation told us, 'Before we go forward with this, we want to make sure that the state is behind this.'" Never received an Idaho House vote. (legislature.idaho.gov SJM101; Spokesman-Review, Mar. 6, 2017; Boise Weekly)

  11. 2018

    "Push to make Craters of the Moon a National Park stalls"; Siddoway retiring; idea not raised in the 2018 session. (Idaho State Journal)

  12. August 17, 2021

    The New National Parks campaign proposes a 2.7-million-acre Craters of the Moon National Park, taking in the monument, the preserve, and the sagebrush steppe around them.

  13. September 2024

    Idaho State Journal op-ed revives the idea for the centennial; no bill. (2026 inventory)